Dili – Pius Soares sits idly under a tree in a refugee camp with his friends. Like thousands of East Timorese waiting to return home after last year's deadly violence, he has time on his hands.
How he uses that time does not extend, however, to attending the political rallies staged not far from the camp in Dili, as East Timor's two presidential candidates slug it out ahead of Wednesday's election.
"It is more important for us to look for food," the 34-year-old said. "All we want is that security is re-established by the new president, so we can all return to our homes."
His friend Carlito agreed, adding he was afraid to attend the rallies held by the powerful Fretilin party in case they turned violent. "Not only are we not making any money (by living in the camps), but we also risk dying in vain (by attending)," said Carlito, who gave only one name.
Apathy is running high in the troubled nation ahead of the runoff vote for the presidency, the first since East Timor won independence in 2002 after 24 years of Indonesian occupation.
Colourful posters and banners are plastered all over the capital promoting Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta, the current prime minister, and his Fretilin rival Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres.
But their rallies are failing to draw large crowds. "For many, especially in the regions, it is a lack of information about the second round," said Joao Mariano Saldanha, head of the Timor Institute for Development Studies.
"For others it is simply the fact that both candidates are already in the government but have so far failed to take the country out of turmoil."
Just 500 people turned up for a Guterres rally in a field in the capital Saturday, mostly supporters of Fretilin, the resistance movement that fought for independence from Portugal and later Indonesia. "For Dili, this is nothing," EU observer Javier Pomes Ruiz said.
Several hundred people gathered early Sunday on a football field in Dili to hear Ramos-Horta speak. The number grew to more than a thousand by late afternoon as convoys of motorcycles, minibuses and trucks arrived carrying supporters. "He (Ramos-Horta) is the one who can guarantee stability, safety and peace for all people," Foreign Minister Jose Luis Guterres told the crowd.
Pomes Ruiz said the size of the rallies was unlikely to be reflected at the ballot box come polling day. "Most people already made up their minds in the first election," he said of the April 9 poll when thousands queued for hours to cast their votes.
Guterres and Ramos-Horta are contesting the runoff because neither won a majority in the first-round vote.
Tension has been simmering in the country since ethnic violence erupted in May last year, killing 37 people and forcing 150,000 to flee their homes. Several thousand foreign peacekeepers were brought in to restore calm and remain on alert amid fears of unrest.
Soares said that despite his disinterest in the campaign, he would vote on Wednesday in the hope the new president restored security. He and his family of six have been too scared to return home to Audian, a volatile area of Dili, since the violence.
Carlito, who like most other refugees has been unable to work since fleeing to the camp, said job creation was also essential. Asked who they would vote for, they replied in unison: "It's a secret."
Across town at another refugee camp, Anicetto and his friends played cards under the shade of a tarpaulin. They have also refused to attend rallies or listen to the speeches.
"Why should we go to the campaign rallies only to listen to them insulting each other?" asked Anicetto to nods of approval from fellow players.
But they, too, will cast their votes. "I hope, whoever wins, that he will be a good driver in steering this nation," one said. "Like a car, of course the other components count, like the wheel, the engine and the brakes, but if the driver is not good and cannot fix them, then it is futile."